Grab your popcorn, because this one is juicy. Jussie Smollett and Karamo Brown are dating, and Brown just spilled some very steamy tea about it without even naming him.
TMZ dropped the receipts first. Photos surfaced of Smollett, 44, and Brown, 45, out together in Los Angeles on Monday, June 29. And these were not just casual friend photos. One shot caught Smollett tenderly cupping Brown’s chin while they walked. Not exactly the body language of two pals grabbing coffee.
Karamo basically confirmed it himself
The very next day, Brown sat down for an interview on Carlos King’s Reality with the King podcast. And he did not hold back, even if he skipped the name drop.
The Queer Eye star confirmed he is dating a celebrity. His exact words? He is “100 percent sure” this person is the one.
Then things got emotional. Brown said he has met his equal. He talked about feeling completely safe, completely secure, and fully able to trust this person with his heart. And, he called it special. He called it amazing.
They are not taking it slow
Brown made it very clear this romance moved fast. His words were that they are “deep in love” already. He explained the reason they have not gone fully public yet is to protect the relationship from unwanted comments and outside noise.
He even used the word husband. Brown said he believes this is going to be his forever person, and that he feels it every single day.
As for what daily life looks like between them, Brown painted a pretty dreamy picture. He said they do not argue. Everything feels easy. He described it as constant laughter and constant love, nonstop.
The 50 Cent drama that came right before this
Timing wise, this reveal lands right after a messy moment involving 50 Cent. The rapper posted a video on June 29 mocking Smollett’s performance at Harlem Pride, poking fun at his singing and dancing on stage.
Brown was not having it. He jumped straight into the comments to defend Smollett, pointing out that he personally watched the entire thirty minute show and that Smollett killed it. He called out 50 Cent for cherry picking one clip just to drag someone down.
Looking back now, that defense makes a whole lot more sense.
Smollett just got out of an engagement
This romance also comes on the heels of a breakup for Smollett. TMZ reported on June 4 that he had called off his engagement to Jabari Redd. The two had gotten engaged nearly a year earlier, and a source described the split as amicable.
Smollett and Redd had been together since at least 2022. They even worked together on screen, starring in The Lost Holliday, a project Smollett also wrote and directed.
Brown’s last major public relationship was with ex-fiancé Ian Jordan. That engagement ended in 2020 after the two had been together for ten years. Brown spoke about the split back then on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, describing it as amicable and saying the two remained friends.